A Hundred Arms
by See No Dum-Dums
Summary: Sequel to Unshadowed Path. Post DoC. Rufus takes it upon himself to keep an eye on a friend's family. But when one of the children gets kidnapped by cultists, the Turks realize that there's more than what things seem, and perhaps world order is at stake.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Not mine. Just the freakin' plot and the freakin' prequel and the freakin' OCs.

* * *

_  
Hmph._

_To you, perhaps, I may be nothing more than a young president of an electric power company. Not a big deal after all, yes? There's Mr. Dalhart of Western Powers Inc., a philanthropist who helped the destitute people of North Corel by providing cheap electricity into their homes. There's also Mr. Shane of General Coalition, Inc., who is said to be capable of buying the whole of Mideel, should he wish to. And there's Mr. Carlton of Carlton Inc., who has just recently proposed to make Nibelheim a city. (I have no idea why he has an interest in such a town.) So you might think that I am not really that special._

_But then, if you _**do**_ know my story, (and that you would know were you conscious ten to five years ago), then you might consider me worse – a washed-out has-been._

_Hmph. Yes. There was a time when I, Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra Electric Company, ruled _**the world**.

_So I might as well tell you my rise and fall… and return, if you would call it that._

_Some among you probably still remember the old Shinra, as established by my father about half a century ago. It began as a weapons manufacturer. And with monsters roaming all around Gaia, weaponry was in great demand. And so President Shinra (Senior) amassed great capital and ventured to the power supply business, building Mako reactors to absorb the Planet's force and convert it into a usable form of energy. That of course led to more profits. The President thus grew from just another businessman into the most powerful man on the Planet. He raised private armies, gained the trust of the general public, and built a towering city – Midgar – over the wreck of eight towns and made it the capital of a great eco-socio-political empire._

_His empire._

_But there were those who opposed him. Those who were educated in Cosmo Canyon believed that Mako reactors suck the life-force of the Planet itself, leaving it to rot and die. In their alarm they formed an organization – AVALANCHE – and vowed to, as their name signifies, act as the Planet's avenging hand against the Shinra._

_Shinra Inc., however, had belligerent branches. MPs, troopers, mechanized guards, and so on. But two of the company's arms were prominent: the Shinra Department of Administrative Research (more known as the Turks) and SOLDIER. Both were composed of Mako-enhanced beings – but SOLDIERs, in addition, had the cells of Jenova, an alien who crashed into the Planet about two millennia ago, injected into them. So AVALANCHE developed their own super-warriors: the Ravens, who were capable of displaying superhuman strength and regenerative abilities._

_So I leave it up to you to picture how much damage was done during those days._

_Oh, have I forgotten to tell you that it was _**I**_ who provided AVALANCHE with the means to fight Shinra?_

_Yes, yes… I know what you are thinking. How did I have the grit to go against my own father? Simple. _

_Power._

_My father was a fool. He was like a toad, perched on a rock, opening his mouth, shooting his tongue, making money and accumulating money for the sake of gaining even more money. No wonder he grew to be rotund. _

_But I disagreed with his policies. How could someone turn his back from dominion when the world was practically begging to be taken? _

_Taken – by _**me.**

_My father (the title disgusts me up to this day) had power, alright. But he did not know how to use it. He only wanted more money._

_I simply wanted more. Hmph. Even though I was but seventeen back then, I already desired the world._

_And I was willing to do _**anything**_ to have it. _

_Even if it meant staining my hands with the old man's dirty, filthy blood, reeking with the horrid scent of money._

_So I provided AVALANCHE with funds, hoping that they would kill the old man off. And at the same time, I headed to Nibelheim to convince Sephiroth to defect and fight for me._

_Sephiroth, the Nightmare Incarnate? Oh yes. To you children, he might just be a name of terror, lurking hidden in the shadows, ready to haunt your most macabre dreams. But once he was a man, and a great warrior – Shinra's finest, to be exact. General of the Army, Hero of the Wutai War, all sorts of honor bestowed upon him. And to have Sephiroth in your team… that was an assurance of victory._

_So I set forth to the little backwater settlement, where Sephiroth was sent to investigate on a reactor breakdown. And then…_

_Hmm. Hm hmmm hm hm hm._

_Why am I sniggering? Well, let us just say that Destiny made my path rather amusing… rather _**interesting.**

_Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself. _

_You see, I met a wild gunman back then. Well, gun_**woman**_, if you are gender-conscious. (Though I don't believe it would matter; she acted much like a man anyway.)_

_She was called Ysselle. Ysselle Blaze, if I remember rightly._

_Oh, she was not a great beauty, in case you are wondering. But she did have smart eyes. _

_Very smart eyes. _

…_Like mine, as some would say._

_To give credit where credit's due, this Ysselle aided me in my journey. Why? I had no idea. She claimed that she was bored of being alone in the wild. She had skills as a markswoman, guide, and – at need – cook and, hmmm, comedienne. So she was not bad company, all in all. We were a battle team, she as mentor and I as charge. She taught me how to survive, after all. In fact, you could go so far even to say that I even grew fond of her, in a fashion._

_Though she was a fool, as many humans are wont to be. I remember that time in Mt. Corel. We encountered a Weissmeister, a giant red robot far beyond our level. And do you know what she did?_

_She risked her life (and got battered) to give me a chance to escape._

_Hmph. Foolish._

_But she survived. She self- regenerated. How? I did not know back then._

_But I am straying. At length we made it into Nibelheim. I had an audience with Sephiroth. However, much to my… chagrin, he did not defect. But he did give me a dark hint about my past. _

_About my mother._

_And Wutai._

_Which I investigated at once, together with the gunwoman, Ysselle, who had decided to go wherever I go. We went to Wutai. I confronted Lord Godo Kisaragi. And I found out – _

– _the truth._

_My mother was one Kyuuka Saya, an assassin sent by Wutai to kill my father. An assassin who only ventured to kill the old man after giving birth to me. An assassin who failed. An assassin who ignited the Wutai War._

_And Ysselle was her sister's child, who hated the Shinra ever since her mother died out of grief._

_And did I already mention that she was an AVALANCHE Raven, sent to spy on me and kill me, by that treacherous Fuhito's orders?_

_Hmph. She never knew that I was her cousin, though. The knowledge clouded her judgment. She fled._

_And when we met again, it was at Junon, when I directed AVALANCHE to seize the Mako Cannon and aim at Midgar, to humiliate my father._

_And, foolish as she was, she tried to stop me._

_But…_

_Hmph._

_I fought her. _

_She had the upper hand. She had a Summon, a black panther, who shielded her from attack. But I found the chink in her armor. I shot the Summon._

_But – she gained a tempo. _

_She could have killed me back then. Yet – she failed. Somehow, she failed._

_So I killed her._

_And, foolish as she was, she gave me her gun, her Summon, her blessing, and made one last request: to take care of a certain family._

_Our remaining cousins. In Junon._

_Fool. She was a trusting fool. She was a damned fool._

…_Hmph._

_But that battle had been fruitless; Sephiroth, the SOLDIER I hoped would fight for me, forced AVALANCHE to retreat._

_Some destiny._

_So it took me another five years to actually gain the power I had so desired to win. _

_And the funny thing was that it was Sephiroth who killed my old man for me. _

_At last, the world was mine._

_At last._

_But there was work to be done still, as my throne was not yet set on solid ground. A second AVALANCHE had risen, composed of Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Barret Wallace – those you now call the Heroes. They also seemed to disagree with Shinra and the way we functioned. _

_And there was also the Nightmare, Sephiroth, who thought it was a good idea to summon Meteor and doom the world._

_And there were the WEAPONs, the wrath of the Planet set loose to obliterate all that the Planet considered filth._

…_including us._

_For better or for worse AVALANCHE managed to slip through our hands, and in fact they landed on Midgar to fight us one last time. But they were not my major concern in the end: Sephiroth and WEAPON were. I had the Mako Cannon, rechristened as the Sister Ray, transferred to Midgar. We aimed for Sephiroth at the Northern Crater. We aimed at the approaching WEAPON._

_We fired._

_Sephiroth's Barrier was broken._

_The WEAPON was impaled._

_But the Sister Ray, our grandest display of power, did not stop its counterattack._

_A barrage of fire bombarded the Shinra Building, the seat of my power in Midgar._

_And there, in a flash of blinding light, I fell._

_Shinra fell._

_All power… was gone._

_And do you know what saved me that day? It was Ysselle's Summon, whom I had renamed Dark Nation. _

_Hmph. Destiny. She played with us all._

_After all, such is our fate, we being but foolish humans._

_Ah…_

_So in that day I lost the power that had taken years for me to gain. I could only watch as Meteor ruined Midgar. I could only watch as the Mako reactors were shut down, never to be used again. I could only watch as the Stigma spread throughout Gaia. _

_And all my power, all my contacts, all my men? All gone. _

_Save for the Turks._

_The same Turks I have tried to destroy five years ago. Ironic._

_And then, I realized that perhaps I ought to have been more foolish as well._

_But, well, what's done is done. At least now Shinra is back – with oil as our energy source. We no longer exercise a monopoly over the world, but, well, we are doing fine._

_Hmph. For now. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before someone from Cosmo Canyon would declare that burning fossil fuel would release excessive amounts of carbon into the air, corroding the ozone layer and letting large amounts of ultraviolet energy seep through._

_Hmph. See? Humans are such fools._

_But not to worry. The Planet seemed to have found a solution for that – in history. History repeats itself, after all._

_So go ahead. Maybe you are right. Maybe I am just another young president of an electric company. Hmph. Maybe I am even just but a nostalgic fool._

_But I am a busy nostalgic fool. I am working on how to rebuild things right now._

_Oh, and that reminds me. I have some kids in Junon to visit later. _

_Consider yourself dismissed._


	2. Profitable Social Interaction

Toying with his prized EMR, lying down on the comfy sofa, lounging at the cozy living room, Reno had to admit that he never really knew much about his boss.

For one, he didn't even know that Rufus Shinra actually had _friends_. But then, said friend's a big-time (and of course, Shinra-affiliated) banker in Junon. Y'know, Evan Armante. So perhaps that bit's not so awesomely shocking.

But to dine willingly (the Prez wasn't exactly a people person) - or, as Rufus would usually term it, "to engage in an uninteresting, unprofitable social interaction" - with the said friend?! And to stay a night there? _And_ to think that he would visit Mr. Armante's household _regularly_ - and always with an escort of Turks?! Okay. Now that Reno couldn't comprehend.

And whenever Reno couldn't comprehend things, he'd usually ask his buddy Rude about it.

...Only, Rude's in Bone Village, miles away from Junon, doing so-called diplomatic talks (which really consisted of "..."s and sheer intimidation), so he couldn't help.

At least Tseng, the annoyingly impeccable ray of sunshine from hell, wasn't with them. He's busy with office work, being head Turk and all.

So all he could ask was the junior Turk assigned with him.

That overeager chatterbox, Elena, who was sitting on a plushy chair near him. She was already beginning to doze off.

So as to not weary his ears with hours of angry words sprouting from a grouchy, 'you-shouldn't-have-woken-me-up-just-for-that-shit' Elena, Reno decided _not_ to ask.

...And laughter ensued in the guest's bedroom. Apparently one of the Armante kids had been telling some sort of funny story to his boss.

Wow. And since when did Reno ever hear Rufus Shinra _laugh?_

(As in laugh without a hint of sarcasm or whatnot... you know, just a plain "'Coz-I'm-happy" laugh.)

So of course Reno got curious. He fine-tuned his ears to "extra-sharp" mode.

And this was the conversation inside the guest room:

"What are you reading, hmmm?" It was a crisp, sharp voice - his boss', Reno was sure of it - that asked the question. However, it wasn't the usually cynical tone Reno was oh-so-familiar with.

In fact, it was kinda... _warm._

A young male voice answered. "The same book she's been reading, over and over again." That would be the firstborn, sixteen-year-old (in Reno's reckoning). That lazy drawl the boy had acquired by crossing Rufus' mocking tone with Reno's ever-bored voice. Living testament of how long they had been visiting this family.

"You ought to know better than to rile your younger sister, Evander," the older voice reprimanded. And then Reno assumed that the Prez was already talking to someone else, because he added, "Won't you say what you're reading?"

"...It's a... s-st... um... s-story..." came the halting response. Heh. That would be the girl. The very shy girl who'd always get six kidnapping threats a day. Yeah, well, the Armantes were _that_ rich, apparently.

"Care to tell me about it?"

Swear, either Rufus was bent on making her life a living hell (which would be the best guess, anyway) or he was actually trying to be kind to the kid.

"...I-It's about... the Cetra... and... J-Jenova's... a-a-arival..."

_Oh... so people've already made stories about that? _Reno thought.

Needless to say that Reno got interested with the kid's tale.

"...Once upon a time, there ...were... the Cetra. They were... um... people... who came from a... um... different planet..."

_Heh. Wonder what that flower girl would have thought of that,_ Reno mused, remembering the half-Cetra who used to fight with Cloud and the second AVALANCHE.

Pity. That girl, last of her kind, died. That was five years ago.

And it seemed that the Armante daughter had gained some confidence in her tale.

"It all began in …Nolaia: the Peacehaven, their … um… Mother Planet. It was a beautiful world of seas …and cool blue waters …and spiraling cones …and shells of all colors, shapes and sizes. And there …in that beautiful world …dwelt a vast people: tall, upright, very much like what humans are today. Yet their race was far more beautiful, far more knowledgeable, and far more powerful; they had the ability to converse with the earth, with the wind, with the sea, with the stars, and everything else.

"They were under only one society. They had no rulers. They had no empires. They had no nobles. They had no slaves. They were all equal.

"They led happy lives."

Reno chuckled in spite of himself. Such a utopia. The writer of that story was either a blind man or an ironic fool who still remembered the old Shinra Empire.

Back then there was a ruler listening to classical music, sitting on his high throne atop a tall building on a giant pizza plate atop a dungheap that barely merited the term 'slums'.

And that man controlled _the world._

Psh. Equality. Fuck that.

Back then, if your name's Shinra, then you're _definitely_ not equal to the lowlife mortals Down Below.

"But it all came crashing down 4000 years ago.

"The Hardalo Mayi, the senseless War of the Magi, began. Terrible fury was unleashed by the warring factions. They set Power against Power, Force against Force, and monstrosities fought each other until the seas dried up, the sky turned red, the cones and the shells shattered, their race dwindled, their dreams were broken, and their Mother Planet was on fire."

Funny how that story reminded Reno of the Sister Ray, the WEAPONs, and Meteor all at once.

"And, when all were ruined, Agnur, whose name meant _wisdom_, had a vision. He saw Nolaia, broken by war and evil, collapse at last. And yet a calm, soothing voice commanded him to build great ships, ships of such size and strength that thousands would be held safely inside. And, as a final order, the voice told him to search for Minwi-tera: a Promised Land wherein they can live in eternal peace and happiness."

That Promised Land crap. Old Shinra was nuts enough to chase after it. And that chase brought only more misery, not happiness.

"And so this Agnur built the ships, the arks, as commanded. The arks were tall and graceful, and such Power was in them that they could navigate the skies and beyond. And as Nolaia burst in her dying flames, he and his followers embarked the arks and sailed away.

"At length the Cetra – for that's what they began to call themselves: _wanderers – _landed on Gaia. Led now by Minerva, a powerful lady chieftain, they settled in the northern region (the Knowlespole). But then…"

Yeah, yeah. The Calamity came.

"Evan! Jen! Bedtime, now!"

Oh. That would be Mrs. Armante.

"You better do what your mother says, now."

And that would be the Prez, who was probably smirking (good-naturedly, Reno hoped… kids' egos do tend to get shattered easily) as he said that.

"…"

So the boy was already asleep.

"G'night, Mr. Shinra."

"Hmph. Good night, Jenara."

But Reno didn't hear – for it was only spoken in Rufus Shinra's mind – the next sentence.

"_Stay safe."_

* * *

_Yeah, I know it sounds kinda random, and a little OOC perhaps for Rufus (But I hope Chap. 1 gives adequate explanation). But, well... I did my best (I think), and this part(more conjecturing here) is actually very much connected into the plot._

_You know the drill! Reviews are loved, flames are tolerated, and swearwords are ignored!_


	3. A Sense of Duty

…Wow. The Armantes sure did know how to entertain guests, at the least. 

Mmmhmm. The _booze_ was – _were_, rather; think _hundreds_ – simply good…

Oooh… shiny white light…

"Reno!"

Eh? …So loud…

"Reno! Wake up!"

…Myrgh…

"WAKE UP!"

AAAAAWCH!

Reno jerked awake, quickly sitting up (he had been lying down on the same sofa as the night before) – only to grimace and lie back down again. Shit… his head was throbbing like it also had a heartbeat.

And damn those lights! Eh? Oh… damn the sun peering through the windows.

Freaking hangovers.

And, annoyed as he was, Reno told Elena to do something that she did not fancy to do with him. Of course that made Elena even more chagrined. (But that was after she had blushed furiously.) "There are kids in here! Seriously, Reno, don't you have any decency left?" she shrieked at the top of her voice.

Elena's shouting only made his headache ten times worse, so Reno decided to give her a piece of hell as well. So he opened one bleary eye and sported a Cheshire grin.

"Not since you took it from me, 'Laney," he replied, grinning like crazy. "Though, I ain't complainin', yo."

Seriously, if humans had boiling points, Elena was nearing it.

"Shut up," she growled. "The President wants us. Now."

Reno cackled, defying his terrific migraine if only to further annoy the junior Turk. "Oooh, threesome?! And with the boss man?! Kinky! Oh, oh, and do try not to scream so loudly this ti– _mighty Odin's balls!_"

Reno thrashed violently, screaming in agony as his beloved EMR found its way to… well, use your powers of inference to find out where.

After what seemed like an eternity (in truth it was only for three seconds) Elena stopped, leaving him down the sofa, crumpled like some battered old dog.

"Good. Now that you're up, awake and alert, let's go meet the President. Okay?"

Elena was smiling her most evilly sweet smile.

…

"Sir! Reporting for duty, sir!"

Elena saluted the President (who was standing up, facing the door like he had been expecting the Turks for some time) as she entered the guest room. It was a little overdone, yes, but very professional just the same. Rufus Shinra nodded in acknowledgement.

"Erm… whatever she said, Mr. Prez."

Reno, who entered next, slouching as usual, gave a sloppy salute, one as sloppy as his uniform (which was saying something; his polo was tucked out, his suit was unbuttoned, and the edges were horribly frayed… to name a few faults).

Speaking of professionalism…

"As you may know," Rufus began, pacing to and fro the large guest room like some military general briefing his troops. At that Reno started to nod, paying only half of his attention to the President of the Shinra Electric Company: his boss loved preambles; he did not. So he only caught a few words such as "kids" and "downtown" and "dangerous" and "I shall" and "with them" and "you" and "guard duty" and…

WHAT?!

The redhead looked like he had been shocked with his EMR once again as he raised his head to shoot a quizzical look at his boss. "Whaddya mean, 'guard duty,' eh?" he rejoined, sounding rather too rude (no, not Rude: _rude_) for an employee addressing his superior.

"I meant what I had said, Reno," Rufus snapped back. "We cannot risk the children to run dangers. It would be very bad for the company, for I do not doubt that Mr. Armante would not be pleased at all should–"

"Geez, they're not really that important, yo!" Reno exclaimed. (He did not see Rufus' eyes twitch.) "I mean, we do have more rich business partners than Mr. Armante – no offense to his wine an' all–"

"I've heard enough, Reno–"

"–so he's practically dispensable, right? And after all, Shinra's now doin' so well–"

"Enough, Reno!"

But it was not Rufus who had shouted the last order; it was Elena, who had seen the President's fists curl tightly, as if ready to strike. And, Mako-enhanced or not, Reno would have an angry Rufus Shinra to reckon with.

(If we may veer slightly off-track: Elena wondered where the President learned how to fight. He must have had a good teacher to fight one-handed with a shotgun – _and _while ill _and _in freefall, as demonstrated in his fight against Kadaj the Remnant, the story of which is told elsewhere.)

Reno was about to answer Elena scathingly when he caught a glimpse of Rufus' expression. It was… not pretty at all. So he decided to shut it.

Rufus' voice was hard-pressed to retain its usual calm, cold, distant quality as the man in white continued. "You shall do as I say. We are to give them a ride under the pretext of touring Junon's business district. Of course they would assume that, since the school is on the same route as ours, it would be practical for the children to ride in our vehicle. Understood?" And with that he shot Reno a glare that plainly meant that he would not take a 'no' for an answer.

"Y-yes, s-sir!" Elena complied, saluting again.

"Reno?"

The redheaded Turk hung his head in submission. "Yeah, yeah," he uttered quietly.

Just like the last time, when Reno tried to convince the President into postponing a visit. (Reno's nightlife suffered a lot during such visits.) Really, why was Rufus so touchy as far as the Armantes were concerned?

…

"Ergh, I can't stand all this girl talk," said the young boy, Lavender or whatever his name was, who was sitting at the back of Rufus Shinra's white limousine together with the President, Elena and his sister, the shy girl. The problem was that Elena had taken to discussing "school" (which actually meant boys and make-up policies) to the other female. "Can't ya speed up the ride, Reno?" the boy added, drawling as if immensely bored.

"Hey, it's _Uncle _Reno to ya, upstart," the Turk jibed back. Heh. He might as well try to make this "mission" as entertaining as possible. "And besides, I can't take this baby on a speedfest: the boss man'll get all pissed. Can't ya see the Prez caressin' his shotgun, yo?"

Which was true; indeed Rufus, as Reno had spotted out of the corner of his sharp eye, was spending most of his time in this trip studying his shotgun, which he had named _Destined_ when it was built (customized and all) about ten years ago. Well, yeah, it looked a little funny – Reno could have sworn that the shotgun's handle was taken from a pistol and attached to the long barrel – but that was no reason to ogle at a weapon for _that _long, right?

Apparently the Armante first born shared the Turk's sentiments. "Why are you so intent on that gun, Mr. Shinra?" he asked, careful to be polite. With the President's face as serious as it was now, being polite was perhaps the wisest thing to do.

"It is a matter that I would like to keep to myself, Evander," Rufus replied curtly.

"W-well," the boy – oh, so his name's Evander; Reno forgot about that – stammered, "g-guess you've got y-your r-reasons, sir."

That made Elena laugh. "What's the matter, Evie?" she snorted. "You don't sound as cocky as usual. Oh, but don't worry; the President just has your safety in mind. That's what our presence is all ab– _oh no. Oh no._"

_Great! Ya just can't keep your mouth shut, can ya, 'Laney? _Reno's inner self growled. She hadn't changed a bit ever since she gave away Sephiroth's location to Cloud Strife five years ago.

Evander's eyes grew wide upon hearing that information.

Well, so did the girl's (her name was Jenara, by the way: from Jennifer, her mother; and from Arabella, her aunt).

But not because of that.

It was because a black van had suddenly appeared, cutting their vehicle off.

Reno only had a split second's warning. "GET DOWN!" he roared.

And then bullets rained down upon the limousine. _And _made their way through the shatterproof glass (which broke) and the steel-reinforced (which could have been made of tin for all the protection it offered) chassis.

"What the–?!"

However lame Reno's work ethics were when it came to periods of safety, the redhead was an excellent Turk should real duty (which meant fighting) called. "Get the kids to safety!" he spat at Elena. Having said that, he jerked the driver's car door open, – and thank Ifrit for his agility! – crouched catlike to dodge the bullets, and then rushed towards the people (sporting black attires and matching black masks) shooting from behind the van, swinging his EMR into life.

Rufus was in his element. He stood up with as much elegance as emergencies allow, cocked his shotgun, and began firing at the enemies as well. "Go!" he snarled, desperation barely concealed in his voice. "I will cover you."

With that Elena pulled Evander and Jenara by their respective arms and quickly dragged them out of the battered limousine. She led them into an open spot some feet away from the commotion. But then, she could not bear to leave her superior, Reno, behind – and the President! They were terribly outnumbered. So, after hastily ordering the siblings to get into safety, Elena drew her gun with the intention of rejoining the battle. But–

"Leaving so soon, sunshine?"

Elena turned around. Much to her alarm she found out that one of the kidnappers had somehow slipped past Reno and the President – and was holding Jenara, gunblade poised against her neck!

Furthermore, this goon was… a _woman!_

Being a well-trained Turk (whatever her shortcomings may be), Elena could take a brief note of her quarry's appearance (and, to some extent, skill). She was slim yet muscular, wearing heavy black pants and a tight black tank top revealing a deep scar across her thin chest, and with dark ebony hair, thin lips, smart dark brown eyes, and another small but prominent gash over her left cheek. She was armed with an antique-looking revolver and a stylishly-fashioned gunblade, both of which shone silver against the sun. But what really stood out was the circlet set against her head. It seemed to be wrought of gold and studded with beautiful gems. (_Why is she up to kidnapping rich kids when she has a crown like that? _Elena wondered.) At once Elena knew that the other woman was a foe that could not go down so easily.

But – for Jenara's sake! – she had to try.

"Who are you?" Elena called out, hoping to buy some more time.

"Mine to know and yours to find out," was the other's reply; she had a cowboy's drawl, the kind one could find in the Corel area. "Though I think _one among you_ might know me. But really, it was stupid of you to leave your charges vulnerable. An elementary mistake, dear. Tut tut." The enemy backed off a new paces, still grasping Jenara. "Too bad I've no choice but to take pretty Miss Armante with me."

"Oh – yeah?" Elena retorted, trying – and failing – to make a formidable threat. "I'd like to see you try."

She fired the first shot, aiming for the other woman's head. For one wild moment Elena thought she had succeeded – but that was before she saw the enemy still standing but now further away from her, still clutching the helpless Armante girl. "Nice try, baby," the gunwoman quipped. "But not good enough. Ta-tah!" And with that, she became nothing more than a black blur, darting quickly to the left, then to the right, then left again, and then up. Elena tried following the enemy with her bullets, but they all missed.

With the gunwoman gone, the black van revved back into life and pulled away.

Just like that. It had all been quick.

Just like that.

"…What was that all about, Elena?" Evander groaned, putting a hand against his forehead. (It appeared that the gunwoman had knocked him down to get his sister.)

"I-I dunno…"

Looking back at the ruined limousine, Elena saw Reno, sporting a bit of blood on his lips yet otherwise unscathed, looking absolutely puzzled. And the President, Rufus Shinra, the man whom no one had ever seen bleed or cry, was also unhurt, and he was staring right back at Elena's direction. Yet he did not seemed angry or frustrated or disappointed with her – he just seemed to be… shocked?

It was as if he had seen a ghost.

…

Rufus was thunderstruck.

Perhaps, he, Rufus Shinra _had_ seen a ghost.

And that ghost had a name.

That ghost was the one he had killed ten years ago.

But... it couldn't be... could it?


End file.
